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Fire Prevention Week

Posted by Melody
Monday, October 6, 2014 9:57:00 AM

October 5-11, 2014

Fire Prevention Week is October 5-11, 2014. The Wesley Chapel Volunteer Fire Department is hosting a community event on October 11, 2014 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. to raise awareness of Fire Prevention Week. Activities will include a smoke house designed to help children understand fire safety, numerous brochures and information about fire safety, dressed-up characters, live rescue/rappelling demonstrations, a bounce house, snacks, and a raffle among other treats. The event will be held at Station #26 on Waxhaw Indian Trail Rd in Wesley Chapel.

Fire Prevention Week was established to commemorate the Great Chicago Fire. That tragic fire in 1871 killed more than 250 people, left 100,000 homeless, destroyed more than 17,400 structures and burned more than 2,000 acres. The fire began on October 8, but continued into and did most of its damage on October 9, 1871.

Since 1922, Fire Prevention Week has been observed on the Sunday through Saturday period in which October 9 falls, and is the longest running public health and safety observance on record.

This year’s Fire Prevention Week campaign includes the following smoke alarm messages:

Install smoke alarms in every bedroom, outside each separate sleeping area and on every level of the home, including the basement.

Interconnect all smoke alarms throughout the home. This way, when one sounds, they all do.

Test alarms at least monthly by pushing the test button.

Replace all smoke alarms when they are 10 years old or sooner if they don’t respond properly.

Make sure everyone in the home knows the sound of the smoke alarm and understands what to do when they hear it.

Your Wesley Chapel Fire Department maintains two stations – Station #31 on New Town Road and Station #26 on Waxhaw-Indian Trail Road. Members of the department live within the fire district and are our neighbors and friends. They protect 30,000+ people, 13 schools with 11, 000+ students and a growing commercial base. In 2013 they ran 1, 328 calls ranging from fires, rescues, and medical emergencies.